Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery still years from full reopening amid plans to 'reimagine' attraction

Ambitious proposals to fully reopen and “reimagine” Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have been unveiled as the city council considers a funding bid. The city’s cultural gem, next to Birmingham City Council House, closed in 2020 for essential maintenance works but partially reopened in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games.

The museum and art gallery (BMAG) then reopened in phases this year, with a number of spaces such as the Round Room Gallery welcoming members of the public for the first time in years. The majority of spaces in the attraction are still not in use but Birmingham City Council is exploring ways to change this through a proposed major project.

In a report, the council said previous repairs and maintenance at the museum “highlighted the need” for essential refurbishment works to be undertaken in order to enable a full reopening. Approval is being sought to submit a ‘stage one’ bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £9m, which would go towards a total project in the sum of around £10m.

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This could help support a full reopening and provide an opportunity to “reimagine and redisplay the museum so it is of relevance to contemporary audiences”. The report, to be considered by cabinet members next week, stressed the temporary closure of BMAG was a financial pressure to the council.

It was having a “detrimental impact” on the ability of Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT) to generate income that contributesd to the sustainability of the museum service, the document said. “BMT have submitted compensation claims for this loss for the past three financial years,” it said. “A further claim will be made this financial year.”

The council report continued however that redisplaying and reopening BMAG had become more complicated than “simply moving the collections back into the building and reinstating previous displays". It said: “While the electrical and essential remedial works addressed infrastructure repairs, many galleries have not had investment in their fabric for 20 to 50 years and the electrical rewiring works have revealed new challenges.”

These included dilapidations to gallery walls, ceilings and floors, the report said. “In some behind-the-scenes examples, the collections storage and facilities used by staff and volunteers are in an even poorer state of repair,” the report added.

If the bid progresses to stage two and is successful, the final project would focus on providing a number of changes including:

• A new vision for BMAG through audience-driven displays, showing a wider range of histories, cultures and experiences about the city and its people.
• 42 galleries fitted out and displayed with the city’s nationally important museum collections.
• An accessible, multi-faith room, including a designated quiet area for neurodiverse visitors.
• Essential gallery, office and toilet refurbishments.

“The outcome of the stage one application is expected to be known by April 2026 at which point a further report will be brought back to cabinet,” the report continued. “If a stage two bid were to be successful (April 2027), then it is estimated that BMAG would be fully open by 2030/31.”

It concluded that the proposal would mitigate future compensation claims; enable BMT to pursue greater commercial income and allow Brummies and visitors to view the collections held by the council on their behalf. A proposal for the submission of a stage one bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund has therefore been recommended for approval and will be considered by cabinet members next Tuesday, November 12.

The outcome of that application would be brought back to cabinet to take a decision on a stage two submission within the "context of the council’s financial position at that time".